Fascism in America: Part 2: Tomorrow

It’s tomorrow: a future moment. Its story has yet to be written, and thus it remains untold. The past is our only guide. We start there.

What do we know? We know that the Republicans have been taken over by fascists, ready to live in a Christian theocracy. As absurd as it sounds, we also know that many of those adherents are openly courting Armageddon. They see it as personal salvation.

We know that Donald Trump and many within the Republican Party apparatus have colluded (and continue to collude) with Russia. We know the Roman Catholic Church and Russian Orthodox Church have made amends after ten centuries of conflict. I will not pretend to understand the significance of that, only that it seems quite noteworthy given the current political atmosphere.

We know that Donald Trump has openly contemplated war with North Korea, once referring to it as “his war.” Strikingly, we also know China is reinforcing its border with North Korea, in obvious preparation of something. I’ve spoken publicly about this as early as March. My prediction: North Korea is pushed to attack someone, creating the context for war.

War often serves as a distraction. We know this. We’ve seen this. It almost seems to be part of the Republican Party playbook. At that point, we likely lose significant mainstream media coverage of domestic events. They’ll say, “We’re at war, we must be patriots!” We’ve already had a preview of this from the Syrian conflict.

If played right, even Democrats will come out in overwhelming support. I know many of you don’t want to hear that, but it fits the historical pattern. We mustn’t let our own bias ignore such common truths. If I were a betting man, I’d bet on a significant escalation and conflict with North Korea. They would serve as the perfect target.

With the country and world distracted, everything else will drop off the map. We may continue screaming, but our voices won’t be heard. And this will most assuredly lead to Patriot Act, Version 3. With overwhelming bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress.

It’s very important to understand this. At the end of the day, our Democratic leaders are largely treating things as business as usual. Sure, they know Donald’s corrupt. Yes, they’re alarmed. But ultimately, they place their trust in our institutions. How could they not? This becomes relevant in the third part of this series. The keywords to remember here are “business as usual.” There’s not nearly enough alarm.

North Korea, or another international crisis, is not our only concern in tomorrow’s world. We have vigorously fomented domestic issues. We face a segment of our population who for all intents and purposes are brainwashed by Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Infowars, the NRA, etc. We are a mortal enemy — a threat to democracy — according to these people. And they are being told to prepare: an actual call to arms. And they have heard that message.

Put these things together, add in dissent, and add in a government that has no intention of protecting you. I need not say it: you know. You must have some idea what tomorrow may look like or you wouldn’t read this. Unfortunately, it’s likely to be even worse than that.

The divide between rich and poor will continue. And I do mean rich and poor: there’s no middle ground here. We’ll fight just to survive. Both our air and water will begin to poison us a little more every day as the machinations of industry move along without oversight. The cost of food will continue to increase (already well outside the reach of many). The cost of movement (fuel) will skyrocket too.

We’ll get sick, without access to proper medical care. We’ll suffer. Millions of us could die. We should expect outbreaks and pandemics. Homelessness. Power outages. Violence. Looting. Arrests. Displacement. The very things of dystopian fiction, made manifest. This is coming. To America. It’s only one day away. Tomorrow. We will struggle greatly, but maybe we can prevent the worst of it.

I don’t mean to frighten you, or to sound like a conspiracy theorist, or even a “prepper” for that matter. I’m truly being a realist. We must look at the day after tomorrow, both for answers and for solutions. It is here we will make our stand.